Hi All,

Im looking to be a part time barista just get some real world experience. What are some things to work on at home to go into an interview and nail it?

It kinda depends on the coffee culture in your location. Where I live, until recently, barista skills were not even remotely relevant for getting hired.

Regardless, it seems important to get to know the management and staff at local shops.

Jack

Be nice. Be clean. Be punctual.

Demonstrating a real passion for coffee is a nice plus.

There's a lot to be said for demonstrable consistency and speed. For the last couple years, I've served espresso/cappuccinos/lattes/Americanos at a local car dealership's monthly cars and coffee event. Below is a video I made last month as part of the Profitec Pro 800 Review:
I typically make 60-80 drinks in 3 hours. While my technique will always need polish, the practice has reduced my drink-to-drink preparation time considerably. I could transition easily into a part-time barista job with minimal training. At home, you could practice making a half-dozen cappuccinos in a row with the goal of taking no longer than 90 seconds/drink (on commercial equipment, the goal would be half that).

thanks dan, i ran across your video a bit ago, very cool and thanks for the tip. Do you charge for drinks there?

No, the drinks and bagels are free and supplies are covered by the dealership! That greatly reduces the chance of complaints about the wait.

If a shop is hiring you on your "barista" skills then I doubt they are the kind of place you'd want to work. Making drinks and learning what it takes to be a barista is easy. If I were interviewing you I'd be more interested in you being passionate about people and not coffee. I would hope that your desire to be a barista is more about making bonds/relationships with people in your community. That's not to say I wouldn't be stoked that you already knew the basics and maybe how to latte art.... but a baristas job should be about people, not coffee. The shop owner, head barista, trainers, etc their job is about coffee. I think this is where I disagree with most coffeeshops. It makes me sad that baristas are more willing to spout off the fact they know the farmer, altitude, and terroir of some coffee but fail to even say hello to customers, act remotely excited about their job, or look up from the machine.

Long story short; I'd hire someone who displayed these qualities above. I would honestly be annoyed if someone came in and talked about brew ratios or bragged that they already know how to do latte art. Anyway, just a shop owners perspective. Go into your interview and just be an awesome person; show them you genuinely love conversing with, getting to know, and caring about people. That's what it takes to be a good barista. Sorry for the rant, but this subject just means a lot to me and I'm SOOOOO ready to see the days of pretentious coffeeshops/baristas to disappear.

1. People skills(friendly, good communicator but can disengage from talkers politely while there is a line)
2. Clean, treat the shop like it's your baby. The best baristas always have the cleanest workspace. Busing tables, sweeping crumbs and coffee is a huge part of the job
3. Be passionate to learn and open minded. We all approach coffee with presumptions. Be willing to leave your technique at the door and embrace your employers(once hired, you can start a conversation and try to prove them otherwise, this gets me in trouble. Quite often....)
4. Be a team player, stay humble, yet confident